Scott McClarrinon talks about the area around his KB Home on Thursday morning. McClarrinon estimates 60 of the 80 homes in his subdivision are now either for sale, in foreclosure or for rent. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Lodi homeowners find dream neighborhood not so charming

Scott McClarrinon says he was duped.

The 31-year-old Galt native thought he was buying into a dream when he and his wife purchased their home at The Villas of Lodi in November 2005.

He imagined he would raise his family in the two-story stone and stucco home at 455 Tuscolana Way. His home is tucked among 80 residences at the tastefully designed subdivision, complete with stately light posts and cobblestone courts.

Many of the homes even overlook a block of vineyards near Harney and Cherokee lanes.

Yet as soon as McClarrinon moved in, his dream and his neighborhood began to crumble.

The homes that had been snatched up so quickly at the peak of the housing boom sat empty for months at a time, with their owners nowhere to be found.

Green lawns turned to brown, left unkempt in the hot spring and summer months.

Tall weeds began to sprout in place of neatly landscaped front gardens.

"For sale" signs popped up throughout the neighborhood, replaced later by "for rent" signs.

Pigeons began to roost on top of abandoned homes, leaving a mess below.

(Marc Lutz/News-Sentinel)

McClarrinon's vision of a vibrant community of homeowners — as promised by builder KB Home — vanished.

"There's just not a lot of homeowners here," he said this week, noting that his neighbors now consist of renters, from a trio of exotic dancers next door to a group of five young men nearby who throw loud parties late into the night.

"It's just not what we envisioned," he said of the community.

A shattered dream

McClarrinon and a few of his neighbors acknowledge that they bought their homes at the worst time possible. (Home prices have slumped since 2005).

But they also contend that KB Home misled them about what kind of community they were moving into — a now blighted neighborhood they say threatens to drag their home values even further down.

They say the home-building giant promised to not sell to out-of-town investors — people who likely would not live in the homes or take close care of them.

Reached for comment this week, a KB Home spokesman said his company can't always control who moves into one of their communities.

The company did have buyers sign an agreement requiring them to occupy their homes for at least the first year, said spokesman Craig LeMessurier.

"It's our policy to not sell to investors," LeMessurier said. "But we can't always guarantee that that's not going to happen."

He noted the company can't strictly enforce the one-year occupancy rule either.

"Obviously there are certain circumstances where a buyer may have to move (before the one year is up) — he gets a job — and we take that into account," LeMessurier said.

Darin Parvin talks about The Villas neighborhood while walking with neighbor Scott McClarrinon near 99 and Harney Lane on Thursday morning. Since the pair bought their own houses from KB Home, the area has deteriorated. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

He noted that the company's legal department does go after owners who sell within a year and who do not have "hardships" or extenuating circumstances.

"We say it's our policy, but at the same time we can't guarantee it," he added.

The Villas are not the only community in the region that has seen out-of-town investors buy and then abandon homes, due to the sluggish market. "For sale" signs dot many Lodi and Stockton neighborhoods. And foreclosure rates in San Joaquin County are the highest in the nation, according to RealtyTrac, which publishes a nationwide list of foreclosed properties.

As of this week, there were 1,952 homes in foreclosure in the county, according to Web site.

McClarrinon's inquiries to the city of Lodi about KB's sales practices — and about how to address matters like sprinklers that spouted water straight up in the air for weeks, or others that had been permanently shut off — were met with some help.

Joseph Wood, the city's top code enforcement officer, said he contacted KB about the lack of upkeep at the subdivision. That led to some improvements, including some landscaping work paid for by KB, LeMessurier said.

Even so, residents say many of the problems persist.

The experience has frustrated McClarrinon along with neighbors Christine and Darin Parvin to no end.

The three feel stuck in the neighborhood, unable to make a return on their homes because of the slumping market, but also because any potential buyer would be turned off by the blighted homes that surround them.

"I'm so mad. I'm just mad," McClarrinon said, standing next to his dining room table covered with stacks of e-mail copies and letters he's written to KB Home, the city of Lodi and print-outs on the region's housing market.

"My property value has dumped ... I've got the worst of both worlds," he said.

McClarrinon bought his home for $364,000, and the Parvins bought theirs for about $350,000, they said. And while sale prices in the city have hovered around $350,000, both couples feel they'd take a significant loss if they sold now.

McClarrinon, a clean shaven man with short brown hair and an intense stare, is now separated from his wife, at least partly because of the ordeal at The Villas.

He said he wants to leave the city, his neighborhood and shattered dream behind.

"I want to say I really like Lodi," he said, standing at the end of Tuscolana Way, where he estimated more than half the homes are for sale, in foreclosure or being rented. "(But) there's no charm out here."

Symptoms of a slumping market

Housing experts and city leaders are mixed on what has caused the dramatic changes at The Villas.

Some, like Wood, say the slumping housing market will lead to more abandoned homes and blight, especially in newer neighborhoods like McClarrinon's.

"It's an issue that is really going to take off," he said, noting his Stockton neighborhood has seen signs of the same problem. "It already has increased ... and will progressively get worse because of the way the market is."

Wood said he's even mowed his neighbor's lawn. The home has been largely abandoned by its owners, he said.

Subprime mortgages and sinking home values have been blamed for the inventory of homes either foreclosed upon and abandoned or up for sale.

Still, not everyone feels the market and its many foreclosures will affect the rest of Lodi the way it has The Villas.

There aren't as many new homes in the city as surrounding communities. And Lodi has something other cities don't always have, some said.

"Lodi has a lot of pride in ownership," said Paul Mertz, a longtime Lodi real estate broker. "Neighbors will pitch in to take care of an eyesore."

That's the solution favored by City Manager Blair King.

He noted that most of the problems at The Villas were civil matters and not necessarily city matters.

The city does have fire, health and safety ordinances. But having brown patches of lawn or clumps of weeds doesn't trigger city enforcement, he said.

"We don't require that everyone maintain a green lawn," he added. "And I don't think the public wants us to ensure everyone has a green lawn."

Because KB never established a homeowners association at The Villas, enforcing the subdivision's codes, covenants and restrictions (which address issues like landscaping and lighting) will be nearly impossible, Mertz noted.

Not the Lodi they expected

Some conditions at The Villas have gotten so bad that Scott McClarrinon has taken to manually turning on his neighbors' sprinkler systems to water burned-up lawns.

He and neighbors Christine and Darin Parvin say they have little choice but to take matters into their own hands, literally.

The Parvins said they never expected a Lodi community to turn out the way it has. They say many of the renters that have moved into The Villas show little or no desire to maintain the lawns, yards and quiet of the neighborhood.

They, like McClarrinon, feel misled by KB Home and are ready to leave Lodi.

"In Lodi, you expect a community to serve the small town feel," Christine Parvin said. "But after you move in here, you find out the neighborhood is 80 percent Bay Area investors."

Homeowners aren't the only ones concerned.

Mandy Joachim said she's been hit by three burglaries since she moved in, two to her car and one to her garage. She's rented her home on Cortofino Lane just down the street from McClarrinon and the Parvins for a year and a half, and worries more crime could come to the neighborhood.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the empty houses," she said, standing in front of her home this week. "Most of the homeowners aren't here and don't talk to one another."